Following a court ruling, the Chinese manufacturers Oppo and OnePlus have stopped selling their smartphones via their online shops for the time being. TECHBOOK reveals how the sales stop in Germany came about.
On the Oppo’s website no smartphones are currently offered for sale. It just says that no product information is currently available. However, all products could still be used without restriction. Something similar is shown in Store by OnePlus, in which there are also no more mobile phones to be found. A complaint by Nokia is to blame for the ban on sales of Oppo and OnePlus smartphones.
Nokia obtains a ban on sales of Oppo and OnePlus in court
Nokia’s network division holds many licenses that are essential for the operation of current smartphones. If you want to use the patented technologies, you have to pay a license fee. In the case of Oppo and OnePlus, both of which belong to the BBK Electronics Group, the manufacturers use 5G technologies protected by Nokia without the consent of Nokia. Nokia had therefore filed a lawsuit years ago. In Germany, the patent dispute flared up again in July. The reason for this was a judgment by the Mannheim regional court, which agreed with Nokia and threatened smartphone manufacturers with a sales ban if they did not come to an agreement with Nokia.
Oppo defended itself against the judgment at that time – without success. The patent dispute ended up in court again and again it was ruled in favor of Nokia. As the business week writes in an exclusive report, the Munich 1 district court imposed a sales ban on Oppo and OnePlus on Friday afternoon. Both manufacturers reacted to this over the weekend and removed their smartphones from their online shops.
However, the smartphones from Oppo and OnePlus can still be found in various other online shops, including Amazon. Because according to the verdict, resellers can continue to sell their existing stocks. However, if these are used up, it could become difficult to replenish them.
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Also read: What you should know about the smartphone manufacturer Oppo
What does the verdict mean for Oppo and OnePlus?
In order to reverse the sales stop in Germany, Oppo and OnePlus would have to obtain a worldwide license for the 5G technologies used. According to the report, this would add up to EUR 2.50 per device sold. Too much for Oppo, whose sales share in Germany is just one percent. Rather, the manufacturer sells the majority of its smartphones in countries where people earn little, such as Asia, Africa and Latin America. The margins are therefore low here, and the economic consequences of the license fees are hardly bearable.
So far, only Germany has been affected by the sales stop for Oppo and OnePlus smartphones. The “damage” for the manufacturers thus remains manageable. This could change, however, as Nokia is also suing the two manufacturers in other countries such as France, Spain, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Finland and Sweden. If the courts there decide as in Germany, Oppo and OnePlus would have to withdraw almost completely from Europe.
Also read: After sales stop – Nokia brings smartphones back to the online shop
Manufacturers criticize high license fees
It is unclear how the two manufacturers would then react. Oppo commented on the events as follows when we asked them.
As the holder of many 5G patents, Oppo has a particularly high respect for the value of intellectual property when innovating. We have a history of cross-licensing agreements with many leading companies and are committed to promoting a healthy intellectual property ecosystem. The day after the 4G contract between Oppo and Nokia expired, Nokia immediately went to court. They previously asked for an unreasonably high contract renewal fee.
Our long-term commitment to the German market remains unchanged and we are proactively working with the relevant parties to resolve the ongoing matter. Aside from having suspended the sale and marketing of certain products through Oppo Germany’s official channels, Oppo will continue to operate in Germany. In the meantime, users can continue to use Oppo products, receive our after-sales service and receive future OS updates.
Official statement from Oppo
The company is therefore not planning a voluntary withdrawal from Europe, but rather hopes that the legal dispute will be resolved soon. Thus, it puts the headline of Wirtschaftswoche into perspective, which headlined: “Oppo leaves German market”. We are doing everything we can to resolve the matter as soon as possible. Exactly how this is supposed to happen is unclear. Oppo considers the license fee demanded by Nokia to be too high.
OnePlus expresses itself similar to Oppo. The manufacturer told TECHBOOK that it was currently working on a solution and advocated “fair access to important patents”. At the same time, however, their “unreasonably high fee” is also criticized here. In detail, OnePlus says:
OnePlus diligently complies with the laws and regulations in every market in which we operate. As a leading technology brand, we recognize the importance of intellectual property in driving innovation and we value fair access to key patents. Nokia’s demand for an unreasonably high fee detracts from this effect.
We are actively working with affected parties to resolve the ongoing legal matter. While sales and marketing of the affected products are on hold, OnePlus remains committed to the German market and will continue to operate. In the meantime, OnePlus users in Germany can continue to enjoy our products and related services such as regular software updates and our customer service as before.
Official statement from OnePlus
In the past, expensive licenses and patent disputes have often led to sales bans. In Germany, however, there has not yet been such an extensive stop. And it could get even bigger, since the BBK Electronics Group also owns the Vivo and Realme brands. Nokia is also taking action against them.